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A guide to recent books on Anglican History
Sheryl A. Kujawa‐Holbrook, EdD, PhD Claremont School of Theology & Bloy House
This survey is confined to works published within the last five years. The author’s social location as a white, U.S. born, Episcopal, woman scholar, informs her opinions about this topic. She apologizes in advance for important scholarship overlooked in this guide.
Significant in its expansive scope is the recent publication of The Oxford History of Anglicanism (2017‐2018), a five‐volume project which cover five centuries of the history of global Anglicanism. Widely reviewed through scholarly journals, this series is the most comprehensive history of Anglicanism to date. Further, its publication underscores the importance of the study of Anglicanism as not only the third largest communion in the world, but also a unique form of Christianity with a distinctive history and tradition. As series editor Rowan Strong notes,
Anglicanism has, therefore, been an expression of the community of diverse social groups situated in the differing contexts of the past five centuries – monarchs, political elites, and lower orders; landowners and landless; slave‐owners and slaves; missionaries, settlers, and indigenous peoples; colonizers and colonized – and by their enemies and opponents, both within and without their Church.i
Similarly, the impressive list of international contributors found in The Oxford Handbook of Anglican Studies (2015), edited by Mark Chapman, Sathianathan Clarke, and Martyn Percy, further establishes the diversity of Anglican Studies.
Historical commemorations over the last five years have contributed new monographs in several areas related to Anglican history, including the King James Bible, the Great War, specifically in terms of Anglican chaplains from Britain and the United States, the Reformation(s), and most recently, John Henry Newman. In terms of the ‘Reformations’ category, a large percentage of recent literature relates most directly to Germany, though there is a significant stream of influential and revisionist works written by Anglican and Roman Catholic scholars related to the English Reformation and its relationship to the formation of Anglican identity, including monographs written by Diarmaid MacCulloch, Eamon Duffy, Margaret Ashton, and Alec Ryie, The Davenant Institute of Leesburg, Virginia, has published a primer on Reformation theology and several ‘modernized’ translations of Richard Hooker in order to make these works available to the current generation of church leaders and scholars. Although reviewers offer a range of opinions on the efficacy of translating Hooker’s sixteenth‐ century prose into modern English, the point here is that there is enough interest in Anglican history of the period to merit this type of historical research project.
Here it should be noted that several scholarly presses currently sponsor significant series related to Anglican history. ‘Anglican‐Episcopal Theology and History’ is a series published by 2
Brill and edited by Paul Avis which focuses on the history and theology of the tradition from the Reformation to the present. Recent volumes of the series include, Brian Douglas, The Eucharistic Theology of Edward Bouverie Pusey (2015), Jeremy Morris, The High Church Revival in the Church of England (2016), Peter Sedgwick, The Origins of Anglican Moral Theology (2018), and the recent notable monograph on twentieth‐century sacramental and ecumenical controversies by Mark D. Chapman and Jeremy Bonner, Costly Communion: Ecumenical Initiative and Sacramental Strife in the Anglican Communion (2019). An older series (2012 to the present) with a somewhat wider scope beyond English Anglicanism is sponsored through Peter Lang and edited by C. K. Robertson. This series not only tackles such topics as Ellen Wondra’s book Questioning Authority: The Theology and the Practice of Authority in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion (2016) and Mkunga H.P. Mtingele’s Leadership and Conflict in African Churches: The Anglican Experience (2016), but also delves into such diverse material as a historical analysis of bishops in the United States (1783‐1873), Anglican interfaith relations, and Anglican ecclesiology.
Biographical histories of the Archbishops of Canterbury are the focus of a series from Routledge, having published monographs on an interesting non‐chronological assortment of these personages, including Anselm, Ralph d’Escures, William of Corbeil, and Theobald of Bec (one volume), Geoffrey Fisher, Reginald Role, Michael Ramsey, William Howley and most recently, Randall Davidson. Significantly, this series is co‐sponsored by the Lambeth Palace Library Archives, and consequently the focus is on a scholarly approach to the subjects drawn extensively from original source material, speeches, and published and unpublished writing.
One series where the history, demographic patterns, key themes and movements, and current trends of Anglicanism are included is the Edinburgh Companions to Global Christianity series. (As many broad global/world histories tend to lump Anglicans in under the general category of Protestantism, this distinctiveness is noteworthy.) The regions studied include Christianity in Sub‐Saharan Africa (2017), Christianity in North Africa and West Asia (2018), Christianity in South and Central Asia (2019), and, Christianity in East and Southeast Asia (forthcoming 2020). Essays by indigenous scholars and practitioners are combined with empirical data and original analysis combines to provide a comprehensive account of the tradition. The chapters explore themes such as historical background, worship, spirituality, theology, mission, evangelism, gender relations, interfaith relations, monastic movements, and ecclesiology. Although not all the essays on Anglicanism are written by adherents, the authors are scholars are from the regions of the world represented in the volume. The Anglican chapter in the volume on Sub‐ Saharan Africa is written by eminent Malawian bishop and scholar, James Tengatenga.
These works mentioned heretofore in current Anglican historiography support both the distinctiveness and the diversity of the field. At the same time, the strength of this historiography lies in the Northern hemisphere, though there is an obvious awareness of the need for more critical study of Anglicanism in the majority world. For example, Jesse Zink’s recent book, Christianity and Catastrophe in South Sudan: Civil War, Migration, and the Rise of Dinka Anglicanism (2018), is an example of critical study of Anglican transnational religious identity at the grassroots level, and which also complexifies broad‐narrative approaches of 3
African and global/world Christianities. As Zink writes, “Rather than offer a history of global Anglicanism that is, at root, a chronological expansion of particular forms of English Christianity, Anglicanism needs more studies of particular churches in their context.”ii
In addition to Zink’s recent book on the South Sudan, several other scholars are engaged in the study of African Anglicanism. Robert S. Heaney published From Historical to Critical Post‐ Colonial Theology: The Contribution of John S. Mbiti and Jesse N. K. Mugambi (African Christian Studies Series Book 9) in 2016. The series is developed by Wipf and Stock to situate African Christian mission within wider African history and world Christianity. (Heaney’s work is the major Anglican contribution to this series.) The series is focused on emergent voices and new methodologies in historical and cultural studies, given the significance of African Christianity today. Heaney’s more recent book, Post‐Colonial Theology: Finding God and Each Other Amidst Hate (2019) is focused more broadly on the ongoing impact of colonialism amid deep human conflicts and is told through the lens of his own formation in Northern Ireland.
Zambian priest, scholar, and human rights activist Kapya John Kaoma’s was the first scholar to reveal the connections between “renewal movement” Christians in the United States (in the Episcopal Church, United Methodist Church, and Presbyterian Church USA) and the rise of postcolonial anti‐gay legislation in Africa, specifically in Nigeria, Uganda, and Kenya. In his book, Christianity, Globalization, and Protective Homophobia: Democratic Contestation of Sexuality in Sub‐Saharan Africa (2018) Kaoma’s scholarship explores cultural neo‐colonialism and the intersection of Christian history, globalization, and African sexual politics. Elsewhere, the history of Anglicanism in Africa can be uncovered by through the “Working Papers in African Studies” produced through the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, as well as through scholarly journals, such as African Diaspora, Mission Studies, Journal of Religion in Africa, and through the digitally accessible archives of the Church of Uganda, available through Brill. Anglican history in the Middle East, specifically in Palestine and in Jordan has been researched by Duane Alexander Miller, an Anglican priest, and member of the Protestant Theological Faculty in Madrid. While we have a much richer historiography of African Anglicanism than we did even a decade ago, the growing percentage of Anglicans in Africa supports a growing need for further study from an African perspective.
Although less prevalent than histories of Anglicanism in Africa, Anglicanism is Asia is an important area for further study. Working with Hong Kong University Press, Philip L. Wickeri, advisor to the Archbishop of Hong Kong for theological and historical studies and Professor of Church History at Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Ming Hua Theological College, has published a series of ‘Historical Studies on Anglican Christianity in China.’ Books in the series include Wickeri, Christian Encounters with Chinese Culture (2015), Moria M.W. Chan‐Yeung, The Practical Prophet: Bishop Ronald O. Hall of Hong Kong and His Legacies (2015), and the recent They Kingdom Come: A Photographic History of Anglicanism in Hing Kong, Macau, and Mainland China, by Wickeri and Ruiwen Chen (2019). A notable title in the series, Christian Women in Chinese Society: The Anglican Story by Wai Ching Angela Wong and Patricia P.K. Chiu (2018), is a nuanced study of the interplay between Western Women Missionaries and Chinese 4
women which culminated in the ordination of Florence Li Tim Oi to the priesthood in 1944 and changed the history of Anglicanism.
Theologian Kwok Pui Lan continues to publish and speak widely on postcolonial Anglicanism. Other scholars less well‐known in the West working on Anglicanism in Asia include Lin Mei‐mei who is working on the history of the Episcopal Church in Taiwan; Renita Nishihara at Rikkyo University, Tokyo; and, Tomas Maddela of St Andrew’s Seminary in Manila. There is an active group of Anglican scholars at Sunggonghoe University in Korean, including Jeremiah Yang and Nak‐Hyon Joseph Joo.
Borderless Press, a project of Postcolonial Networks is focused on publishing the work of new voices in the majority world through decolonizing the publications process and making connections between local authors and mentors who assisted them in working projects through completion. The project is included here because of its clearly articulated agenda to support the scholarship of majority world authors, many of whom are among the most marginalized by the academy and publishing industries. Such publishing would not only benefit the field of Anglican history/studies but would serve the wider field of world Christianities. Significant scholarship is readily available through Borderless Press, for example, the anthology Decolonizing the Body of Christ: Theology and Theory After Empire? (2012), edited by Postcolonial Networks founder and Episcopal Scholar Joseph F. Duggan and Church of South India scholar C.I. David Joy. Joy more recently published, Overlooked Voices: A Postcolonial Indian Quest (2015), also through Borderless Press. In this book, Joy uses postcolonial historiography as a tool for understanding colonial communities and resistance movements.
The history of Anglicanism in Australia, New Zealand and other regions of the Pacific continues to be an important area of additional study. The Australian College of Theology Monograph Series, also through Wipf and Stock, covers a range of sub‐fields, including history. Notable works include John A. MacIntosh, Anglican Evangelism in Sydney 1897‐1953 (2018), and Wei‐ Han Kuan, Foundations of Anglican Evangelism in Victoria (2019). Hilary M. Carey’s recent book, Empire of Hell: Religion and the Campaign to End Convict Transportation in the British Empire, 1788‐1875 (2019), is a revisionist history of the role of religion in convict colonialism from Britain and Ireland. Carey was born in Perth and is now Professor of Imperial and Religious History at the University of Bristol. Her research on Methodism in Australia further informs our knowledge of the history of missions to aboriginal peoples and in the Pacific Islands and the role of women. Jenny Te Paa Daniel continues to write on the theology and history of Anglicanism in New Zealand
It should be noted here that the Journal of Anglican Studies, makes a concerted effort to publish scholarship related to Anglicanism in the majority world, with frequent in articles on Anglicanism in Africa, Asia, and Australia. (For example, the November 2016 issue on Africa.) Anglican and Episcopal History has also expanded its coverage of Anglican majority voices in recent years, having previously published in the 1980s and 1990s several articles (of the few available sources in English) on the history of Latin American Anglicanism by John L. Kater. Brazilian scholar Carlos Eduardo Calvani publishes these days largely in Portuguese. The 5
Brazilian journal Inclusividade, which focused on liturgical and historical scholarship was discontinued. The need for further critical studies on the history of Latin American Anglicanism remains a need today, recognizing the extensive cultural, linguistic, political, and social differences of the region.
In addition to the need for additional studies devoted to Anglicanism on a local level in the majority world written from the perspectives of scholars from those regions, it should be noted here that two additional areas of research deserve additional attention. These areas are the study of indigenous peoples, as well as the study of the roles of Anglican women in all regions, but more specifically in the majority world. (Though the situation is improving, women scholars continue to be under‐represented in Anglican scholarship.) Though several monographs have been written about the role of the Anglican Church in relation to residential schools, such as Eric Taylor Woods, A Cultural Sociology of Anglican Mission and the Indian Residential Schools (2016), more work needs to be done on indigenous Anglicanism in local regions, as well as transnational networks. (The Anglican Church of Canada has recently released a documentary on the impact of the Doctrine of Discovery.) In addition to the studies which focus on or include research on women previously noted here, two additional works should be mentioned, though both transcend the boundaries of traditional histories. Jane Shaw, Pioneers of Modern Spirituality: The Neglected Anglican Innovators of a ‘Spiritual but not Religious’ Age (2018), not only affirms the impact of Evelyn Underhill and Rose Macaulay on modern Anglican spiritualities, but insightfully situates each within her context. The essays in Anglican Women Novelists: from Charlotte Bronte to P.D. James (2019) by Judith D. Maltby and Alison Shell explores the relationship between the developments of Anglicanism and the changing roles of women from the nineteenth through the twenty‐first centuries.
This brief survey of the trends in Anglican historiography over the past five years, surfaces several important areas for future work. On a basic level, the distinctiveness of Anglicanism as a form of Christianity need to be established within the field of global/world Christianities, in an effort to ensure that we are part of those narratives. Though the history of Anglicanism across extant literature is being expanded beyond the worldview of the Northern Hemisphere, much more research needs to be done pertaining to Anglican history in the majority world. Research which considers the local context, including migration, generational differences, patterns of violence, and theological and religious differences will complexify our current picture of the history of Anglicanism in the Global South. Here the research for this paper surfaced some of the challenges for doing that work, including a paucity of research and access to sources and publishing in some regions. The raising up of under‐represented voices in the history of Anglicanism, both as authors and as subjects, is a continuing theme in our work going forward. Further, while continuing current trends in inter‐Anglican and ecumenical history, the history of Anglican relationships with other religions is an important area for further work. Some of this research has already begun in terms of Anglican‐Muslim relationships. Similarly, writing the history of marginalized groups within Anglicism, such as indigenous people, women, etc., Such research will broaden our current knowledge of the history of lived Anglicanism in different regions and periods.
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i Rowan Strong, “Series Introduction” The Oxford History of Anglicanism, Vol 1. Anthony Milton, ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017), xxvi. ii Jesse A Zink, Christianity and Catastrophe in South Sudan: Civil War, Migration, and the Rose of Dinka Anglicanism (Waco: Baylor University Press, 2018), 221.